Ventilated wall structure for dry seal gasholders



J. H. WIGGINS Dec. 25, 1951 VENTILATED WALL STRUCTURE FOR DRY SEAL GAS HOLDERS 2 SHEETS-SHEET l Filed Jan. 17, 1949 s.. 7 G C 7 H INve/vrofa, JOHN H. W/GG/NS WMA Ao/may;

Dec. z5, 1951 J. H. WIGGINS VENTILATED WALL STRUCTURE FOR DRY SEAL GAS HOLDERS 2 SHEETS- SHEET 2 Filed Jan. 17, 1949 ATTORNEY.

Patented Dec. 25, 1951 UNITED STATES rA'rnrn oFFIcE VENTILATED WALL STRUCTURE FOR DRY SEAL GASHOLDERS 101m u. Wiggins, chicago. nl.. Application January 17, 1949, Serial No. 71,273

2 Claims- This invention relates to dry sea1eas holders, and has for its `main object to provide a novel wall Structure, which. in addition to serving es a backfstep or abutment surface for the exble, curtain-like element that constitutes the seal for the part of the apparatus which moves vertically to vary the volume of the gas storage chamber. also effectively ventilates a .Space in the apparatus ,in -whichvan accumulation of gases might re- Sult in an explosion.

Another object is to provide awall structure of the kind referred to, that is inexpensive to build and easy to erect. And still another object of my invention is to provide a dry seal, piston-type gas holder, in which the side wall of the container is so cons structed that its lower portion constitutes a gas tight part of the gas storage chamber, and its upper portion constitutes a piston seal back-stop or abutment surface, provided with horizontal, circumferentially disposed slots that effectively ventilate the internal space of the container between the piston and the roof oi' the container. Other objects and desirable features of my inverntion will be hereinafter pointed out. Figure 1 of the drawings is a fragmentary, ver.- tical sectional view of a dry seal, piston-type gas holder constructed in accordance with my invention.

1 Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional View, taken on the line 2--2 of Figure l.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary, elevational View, illustrating another form of side wall structure embodying my invention, said view showing the inner face of the side wall,

' Figure 4 is a fragmentary, horizontal sectional View of Figure 3.

Figure 5 ls a vertical sectional View, taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 4. Figure 6 is an enlarged vertical sectional View, -l'or'the purpose oi clearly illustrating how the circumferentially-disposed Ventilatingl slots are formed in my improved Wall structure during the operation of building or erecting same; and

' Figure 7 is a side elevational View of the parts illustrated in Figure 6, showing a portion of the outside face of the ventilated part of my improved wall structure.

I have herein illustrated my invention embod led in a dry seal gas holder of the piston type, but I Wish it to be understood that my invention is applicable to a dry seal gas holder of the so,- vcalled bell-type whose vertically-movable'. .part consists of an inverted cup-shaped member, that is arranged in telescoped relation with a station ary member which also is of inverted cup shape, the top wall of said stationary member constituting the bottom of the gas storage chamber and the side Wall of said stationary member being adapted to serve as a backstop or abutment sur.- iace for the dry seal that closes the space between the bell and the stationary member over which the bell telescopes.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, the reference character A designates a verticallymovable pistonarransed inside of a container, in spaced relation'with the side wallof said con,- tainer. i Said piston constitutes the top wall of the gas storage chamber, and the annular space between the piston and thecontaner side wall is sealed by a flexible, curtain-like sealing element B, usually constructed of gas-tight fabric and having its inner and outer edges attached in a gas-tight manner by any suitable means, to the periphery of the piston and to an intermediate portion of the container side wall. The portion C of the container side wall located below the point of attachment of the sealing element B to said Wall constitutes the side wall of the gas storage chamber, andaccordingly, must be of gas-tight construction. The bottom of the gas storage chamber may be formed either by the bottom D of the container, or by the ground on which the container is erected. When the piston is in its lowermost position, as shown in solid lines in Figure l, the pressure of the gases in the storage chamber holds the sealing element B in snug engagement with an annular member E on thel top side of the piston that serves as a back-stop for said sealing element and absorbs some of the force or pressure exerted on said sealing element by the gases in the storage chamber, said backstop member E'being of conventional construction. During the operation of admitting gases to the storage chamber, the piston A moves upf war-diy, as shown in brokenlines in Figure 1, and the pressure which the gases exert on the sealn ing element B causes said 'element-to be stripped oi the back-stop member E on the piston and forced into snug engagement with the portion C of the container side wall located above the point of attachment of the sealing element B to said wall.

In instances Where a dry seal gas holder, either of the piston type or of the bell type, has a space externally of the gas storage chamber in which combustible gases are liable to collect, it is customary to provide aventing vdevice for said' space, so as to reduce the liability of an explosion re sulting from the accumulation'of a considerable quantity of combustible gases in said space. For example, in a piston-type, dry seal gas holder comprising a container provided with a roof F, as shown herein, combustible gases are liable to enter the space in the upper portion of the container between the piston A and the roof of the container, and hence, if said space is adequately vented, the possibility of an explosion in said space is eliminated, or at least, greatly minimized.

My invention consists of an improved wall structure, which, when used to form the upper portion C of the side wall of the container of a piston-type, dry seal gas holder, practically elim` inates the possibility of an explosion in the space above the piston, due to the fact that said portion C is provided with a plurality of horizontally-disposed Ventilating slots I that extend circumferentially around the entire area of the space between the piston A and the roof F of the container. Said improved wall structure forms an efficient back-stop or abutment surface for the piston sealing element B, and it has the further advantage of being inexpensive to construct and easy to erect. As shown in Figures 1, 2, V6 and '7, the upper portion C' of the container side wall is formed from a plurality of ring-shaped members or annular members G arranged one above the other with their adjacent ends set in spaced relation or offset relation, so

as to produce the previously mentioned Ventilating slots I. Preferably the annular members' G are so proportioned that the lower end portion of each of said members partially overlaps or surrounds, and is spaced slightly away from, the annular member directly below the same. The lowermost annular member G of the series is telescoped over and spaced slightly away from the upper end of the gas-tight lower portion C of the container side wall, and the uppermost annular member G of the series has its top edge attached to the roof F of the container. The annular members G are rigidly connected together, and the series or stack of members G is supported by and attached to the gas-tight lower portion C of the container side wall.

So far as my broad idea Yis concerned, it is immaterial how the annular members G are combined or connected together to produce the ventilating slots I. In the form of my invention herein shown, laterally-projecting lugs 2 set in spaced relation, are attached to the exterior of the wall structure by welding 3, so as to form supports for the annular members G, and said members are mounted on and attached by welding 4 to said lugs, so as to hold the telescoped end parts of the members G in spaced relation to produce the slots I, as shown clearly in Figure 6. In a side wall structure of the kind described, there are numerous Ventilating openings throughout the height of the side wall of the space above the piston, and each Ventilating opening consists of a horizontally-disposed slot in said side wall that extends around the entire circumference of said wall. Due to the fact that each Ventilating slot is formed by two concentrically-disposed, tubular parts arranged one inside of the other in spaced relationship, the air on the exterior of the leeward side of the container tends to create a suction at the lower, discharge ends of the slots I, which draws gases into the upper, intake ends of said slots, and thence downwardly through said slots, thereby insuring rapid and efficient scavenging of the space in the upper portion of the container above the piston A. Another vadvantage of Ventilating slots I of the construction above described, is that wind and rain will come in contact with the piston sealing element B', due to the fact that each of said slots, in eiect, is a vertical flue whose discharge end is located on the outer side of the wall in a horizontal plane lower than the intake end of the flue which is located on the inner side of the wall at a point higher than the discharge end of the flue.

Other advantages of a wall structure of the kind above described are:

(a) The Ventilating slots I are created merely as a result of the novel way the elements of the structure are combined, and not by a separate procedure, such, for example, as cutting openings in the plates from which the wall is con- Structed;

(b) The welding operation required to connect or join together the parts of the structure is only a fractional part of the welding operation required in constructing a conventional wall composed of butt-welded plates; i

(c) The plates from which the annular members G are constructed do not have to be squared as is standard practice in constructing a buttwelded plate wall; and

(d) The time required to build the structure is considerably less than the time required to fabricate a conventional butt-welded plate wall, due to the fact that the lugs 2`on which the annular members are supported during the operation of progressively building up the wall are not subsequently removed, as is standard practice in building a conventional butt-welded plate wall, but instead, constitute a permanentpart of the structure and perform the dual function of supporting devices for the annular members G during the erection operation and connecting devices that tie the members G together and hold them in proper relationship with Ventilating slots between telescoped or overlapped end portions of said annular members.

Instead of making the annular members G of uniform diameter throughout their entire height or length, I prefer to make said members of frusto-conical shape, as shown in Figure 1, thereby producing a wall whose upper end is of the same diameter as its lower end, notwithstanding the fact that the wall comprises a plu rality of annular Ventilating slots I ofr tubular form arranged horizontally, one above the other. Such a wall produces an efficient abutment surface for the piston sealing element without stretching the piston sealing element when the gases in the storage chamber press said element into snug engagement with the upper portion C' of the container side wall. j

In Figures 3, 4 and 5, I have illustrated another form of my invention which differs from the form shown in Figures 1 and 2, vin that it comprises a framework that is relied upon to carry the load of the upper portion C' of the con-V tainer side wall and brace the same against wind pressure. Said framework is preferably arranged on the outer side of the wall and is herein illustrated as being composed of uprights or vertically-disposed members 5 arranged in spaced relation around the circumference of the wall, as clearly shown in Figure 4, and a plurality of horizontally-disposed, annular, circumferential members 'I arranged one above the other, as shown in `Figure 5. The ring-shaped or annular members Gare joined together and arranged in the manner previously described, so as to produce Ventilating slots I between telescoped or lapped portions at the upper and lower ends of said members, and said annular members are attached in any preferred manner to the supporting framework of the wall. For example, the ends of the plates from which the annular members G are constructed may be attached by welding lla to the uprights 6 of the framework, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, and the circumferential members 'l of said framework may be attached by welding 4b to the particular annular members G that contact with or bearv against said circumferential members 1, as shown in Figure 5.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A gas holder provided with a container having a side wall whose lower portion is gas-tight and constitutes the side wall of the gas storage chamber, a vertically-movable piston in said container that forms the top wall of the storage chamber, and a exible, curtain-like, gas-tight sealing element attached to said piston and to an intermediate portion of the container side wall so as to serve as a seal for the piston, the upper portion of said side wall located above the point where the piston sealing element is attached to said wall being formed by a plurality of vertically-disposed, frusto-conical wall portions, arranged one above the other with their end portions slightly telescoped and set in spaced relation so as to produce Ventilating slots.

2. A gas holder provided with a container having a side wall whose lower portion is gas-tight and constitutes the side wall of the gas storage chamber, a vertically-movable piston in said container that forms the top Wall of the storage chamber, and a iiexible, curtain-like, gas-tight sealing element attached to said piston and to an intermediate portion of the container side wall so as to serve as a seal for the piston, the upper portion of said side wall located. above the point where the piston sealing element is attached to said wall being composed of a plurality of vertically-disposed, frusto-conical wall portions, each supported by a bracket projecting from the wall portion immediately below.

JOHN I-I. WIGGINS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,207,272 Simons July 9, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 307,179 Great Britain Mar. 7, 1929 

